'gettin your ducks in a row', for a 'big move'

Question

Have you made any 'big moves'  in your life?  

I've moved short distances several times in my life, away to College/University, and I've built-and-sold a couple houses in different cities, but those moves were all, at most, a 1-1/2 hour's drive away, I knew people there and the community, what/where to do the fun/social stuff etc. 

This time (6 months or sooner), for me, it's gonna be much different, as I'm selling my current house (I built it a few years ago), packing all my things and heading (by myself) 800kms/500miles away from here (the place I grew up, went to school, have lots of friends, family and lots of memories ...)  to a place I don't know anyone, but where I can finally 'Start Fresh', including building myself a new house, rebuilding my Home-design/Architecture Business and it's website, office and advertising etc., and rebuilding absolutely every other aspect of my life, including my social-life, hobbies... everything everything...

My main question is; Is there anything(s) that a 'big move' Rookie should know ? To make the move (and the 'one chance to start-over-fresh', 'hit the ground running' kind of stuff) as successful as possible ? 

Answer 1

I'm just about to make my fourth. I moved from New England to Italy (4,330mi) at 19 to be with my husband. From Italy to California at 22 with a 2 month old (6,515mi) when we came back to the US. A year later we moved from California to North Carolina (2,335 mi) and now five years later we are planning on moving back to California, we just haven't determined the exact area as that will dependent on where he gets hired.

Move tips: 

Make a household inventory-it helps both in case the movers break or steal something. Also if something ever happens to your home it is a lot easier to deal with your home owners insurance and get reimbursements if you already have a comprehensive list you can send them of items that were lost. My husband thought I was crazy for documenting everything down to the books, DVDs, and games but when our house burned down three years ago I had everything listed already for our insurance claim.

Investigate the area you are looking to move to. Google helps. Look up social groups, activities, etc and plan to attend something to start the friend making process. But also look at things like amenities, recreation, crime rates, schools, local cultural events.  It will help you get a feel for whether it is a place you might want to live in.  

If you've found a lot to build on or a neighborhood you want to live in--go on the local tax website and take a look at prior years assessments for that lot and what is typical in the neighborhood. You could get a great mortgage rate but still end up priced out of the neighborhood if the taxes are continually increased. Ex. My dad had a 50k mortgage on his home, my mortgage is 155k but my monthly payment is lower than his in large part due to the property taxes where he lives.

Comments

Ohhhhh yeah, you have some long-move experience ! :-)   Thanks so much, for the helpful tips !   I'd never thought of making an inventory, but I definitely will be now ! 

 I'm planning to use the equity I get out of selling my current house (it'll be enough to buy the lot and build the next one) so I won't need and wasn't thinking about a mortgage) but oh yeah, good tip on the property taxes, that's actually part of the reason I'm leaving where I'm at now (stupid-high taxes), and I will dig deep into property taxes on any lot I consider, Thanks for reiterating that for me !